Chicago POE without speaking English

[tderev 0]

Hello everyone,

My husband has his interview next week and then if everything goes well and his CR1 is approved he will be flying in to Chicago. I am really concerned because he doesn't speak English at all and wont know what to do or where to go once he gets off the plane. Anyone had a similar situation with some insight on how to handle this? Anyone can tell me the whole process from getting off the place to walking out the airport so that I could tell my husband what to expect? Do they have translators Ukrainian or Russian at the airport? Please any input is greatly appreciated.

[AL+ ALENA FOREVER 1]

My wife entered through Chicago May 2011.

She said tell you husband to relax everything will be fine.

The following is what she told me….

- There are 2 lines 1 for US CITIZENS - 1 for GUESTS - Your husband needs to go in the Guest line.

- She waited in the GUEST line.

- She handed them her pass port

- She had her immigration packet ready and handed to them when it was her turn.

For her this was all that happened – They stamped her pass port and sent her through. She said that her bags were scanned but not searched. I told my wife not to bring in anything that was not allowed – I did not want any problem bring in anything that was not allowed especially with her limited English.

She said that there were many Polish people coming through on her flight. One man spoke NO ENGLISH the people in immigration walked around asking if someone spoke both English and Polish until they found someone

I suggest sending him some basic phrases that he could put on index cards.

Like

I DO NOT SPEAK ENGLISH – I SPEAK RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN

CAN YOU FIND SOMEONE TO TRANSLATE FOR ME

I AM HERE ON A CR1 TO BE WITH MY WIFE

These are a few that come to mind that may help him.

Let me know if you have any questions.

My wife said that she would call you husband if you feel he would like to speak to someone in Russian. Of course you would have to send me his phone number to call.

Good Luck

Al & Lena

[tderev 0]

Thank you for all the information. That was very helpful. I will type up the phrases for him and hopefully someone there could translate for him.

[vbtwo 54]

Thank you for all the information. That was very helpful. I will type up the phrases for him and hopefully someone there could translate for him.

What airline is he flying? Is it a direct flight from Russia so there are a lot of people that speak Russian on the plane or is it a flight through Europe somewhere?

I don't know about CR-1 visas, but when we came in with my fiancee on a K1 they only asked when our wedding will be. I'm sure if she would be by herself and not understand, they wouldn't care really and not ask her anything.

He will have to have fingerprints taken (machine similar to what was in the embassy, the green glowing square thingie) and have his photo taken, so he should be ready for this.

[tderev 0]

Thanks for the info. I will tell him to ask someone on the plane who speaks English to help him.

[BatmanUSA 105]

my wife came with her 16 year old daughter.

had direct flight from Moscow to Miami (her POE)

so after spending almost 30 hours in total travel time, Siberia to Moscow, then a 7 hour wait for flight to Miami, she didn't look or smell her best..

she speaks English.. after standing in line and handing them all the paperwork, they took her and her daughter into another room and played 50 question..... she told me someone made a comment that, "she is only here to get married"...it was like thay were talking about her, but she was right there.. then the officer who was reviewing her paperwork said, no, she is also a university professor.... so we feel like only after they realized that she was an educated woman who spoke English, they finished the interview and let her go.

But they let her out in a different area from here she should have gotten out and into the terminal. So I'm waiting on the 3rd floor here the customs officer said all international arriving flights will disembark, but they let her out of the interview room on the 2nd floor... so an hour and a half later, I go upstairs to look, and I found her.. We were pissed, I felt bad because I was treated better in Moscow and in Krasnoyarsk airport than she was in Miami... Welcome to America...

[BatmanUSA 105]

The suggestion to use index cards with basic English phrases is a good one.. Be sure he has one with your cell phone number on it. and maybe have another one asking them to call you or page you in the airport..

[Hollyday 122]

Not directly related to situation at hand, but when i was flying Moscow-Amsterdam-Seattle, there were American officers in Amsterdam doing the initial screening for boarding, and when there were Russians who didn't speak any English they asked people who did (me, for example) to help them with questioning. And it wasn't even an immigration visa they were entering on. Maybe you can write a little letter in English with some details about his travel so he can give it to the IO at the border? I'm sure they'll think of something if they need to question him. Wouldn't expect actual interpreters there though.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

ANother thing is to create dual language cards so he can find what he wants to ask and someone can help him Like please help me find my gate and the same in the native language

[Darnell 8,478]

Once he gets out of the plane,

basically,

follow the person in front of him.

There be groupings/clusters of queues,

one for the immigration control point - where he hands over the visa packet and shows his passport,

another one to pick up his luggage,

and another one for customs control point.

Usually, there are bathrooms before the immigration control point, so bear that in mind, as he gets off the plane (great place to shave or wash yer face or put on some deodorant or brush yer teeths).

Once he exits the International Flight Arrival Area, he has to recheck his luggage if there's a connecting flight, and he has to get to the next terminal.

If Chicago is the END POINT, well, that's easy, just walk out of the International Terminal, and he comes to find you.

Also, if, by the time he hits the POE, it's been 2 years or more since the marriage date, tell him to remind the CBP officer at the Immigration Control point to upgrade the designation from CR-1 to IR-1. It's worth it, at the POE, to get this designation upgraded, if'n he qualifies.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Darnell

[james&olya 1,121]

What airline is he flying? Is it a direct flight from Russia so there are a lot of people that speak Russian on the plane or is it a flight through Europe somewhere?

It would be great if it were a direct flight! There have not been direct flights from Moscow to Chicago for the last few years at least and still aren't as far as I know. I would love to see them start doing this. Many flights connect through Germany but you can connect through France, Spain, UK, Switzerland, etc.

I have heard that there is a service they can use when nobody is available in person to translate that involves them calling a phone number of a qualified translator and doing it over the phone. The card idea is a good one, definitely consider doing that.

[baron555 934]

Delta connects from Chicago to Moscow via JFK. My wife has always been able to find help in JFK.....but she also speaksEnglish.

He should make contact with a flight attendant who should be able to help out...maybe even radio ahead for a request.

[1HappyGuy 45]

I generally recommend that the U.S. resident be at the POE in case of delays or complications. This is not always possible, but it sure helps the person arriving to know someone is waiting for them outside the gate. When my fiancee arrived it took a lot longer for her to clear customs even though she spoke good English.

You should also check about the most recent customs forms that the airlines hand out on the plane to see if he will need help with those.

Best of luck. I'm sure that everything will work out okay, unless there is a short window for a connecting flight you will find that it eventually all works.

Get ready to celebrate!

[james&olya 1,121]

Delta connects from Chicago to Moscow via JFK. My wife has always been able to find help in JFK.....but she also speaksEnglish.

In that case the POE is not Chicago but JFK. There are innumerable ways to connect from Chicago (or anywhere there is a commercial airport) to Moscow 'via' another hub. Of course it is then no longer a direct flight and the probability of other Russian speaking passengers deplaning simultaneously at the Chicago POE (which was the point here) goes way, way down. But maybe you have another point to make, that it might have been advantageous to choose JFK as the POE to afford him the advantage of that direct connection from Moscow and the fellow travelers (!) able to speak Russian and translate for him.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

When I was waiting in line at Washington, there was a woman in line who didn't speak any English. Officer just asked other people in line if somebody who doesn't know this person knows her language and can be interprepter for a few minutes? Somebody did.